My mom says that I when I was almost four years old, I handed her a book and said, "Teach me how to read this by myself." She did. I do not remember a time when reading has not been a huge part of my life. I spent a lot of my childhood reading, and getting into trouble for reading past my bedtime. The first books I remember reading more than once are The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary, and The Babysitters Club series. As I got a little older, I wanted all the scary books I could get my hands on; R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, Mary Downing Hahn. This is when I remember really starting to enjoy the horror genre (although, as an adult, I see these books as more fun than scary). I am not sure why I love horror so much, but I love to be scared when I am reading (I was terrified while reading The Shining and I loved it). When I was in 7th grade, I read 'Salems Lot by Stephen King and I was hooked. He is still my favorite author, and I have read many of his books or listened to them on audio. I read his book 11/22/63 and I could not read anything else for weeks- I loved it so much, I felt unable to read anything else.
Currently, I work full-time, I am a full-time student, and I have two children. I do not read as much as I used to, sadly. I rely mostly on audiobooks for reading, but I do find myself sitting with a book more lately- I prefer actual books over reading on a device, but I do both. I read for a book club I belong to which introduces me to books I might not normally read, and I read some YA- I work in a school library, and I see great literature come through there. I also enjoy reading biographies and books that make me laugh.
Last year, I read Lincoln in the Bardo (which I thoroughly enjoyed), Gone Girl, Into the Water, Needful Things, the Bill Hodges trilogy (King), The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo (Amy Schumer), and Yes, Please (Amy Poehler) to name what I remember.
I am looking forward to enjoying some books this semester that I might not normally choose to read.
I also like reading with a physical book over a device. Something about eye strain, I suppose, but I've had to embrace audiobooks with my busy schedule too. I feel like you have to have a good narrator with an audiobook, though, so it can be difficult to really match up with one, even if the source material is excellent.
ReplyDeleteYA really does have some great literature as it has become a more diverse and discussed genre. How did you like Gone Girl? I really enjoyed it, though I read it a few years ago now, and don't feel like I retained much but the main plot points.
I enjoyed reading Gone Girl, but I admit that I did not exactly see the hype to it. I thought it was a good story, but no better than other great novels I have read!
DeleteHi Kelly! I love horror books too and Stephen King certainly is the master. I have not read The Shinning or Salem's Lot yet, but I do love The Stand and Dolores Claiborne. I want to read Sleeping Beauties. I love audiobooks as well. Do you have any favorite narrators? I think Jim Dale elevated Harry Potter and Davina Porter does an excellent job reading the unabridged Outlander books. Jill Eikenberry also has a wonderful reading voice.
ReplyDeleteHi! My favorite narrator is Will Patton. I like his voice and style. He read "Doctor Sleep" and I found him to be captivating.
DeleteThe Outlander series is on my list of books I want to read!
Great reading profile! I like that you discussed how your reading choices as a child helped turn you into the reader that you are now! I too LOVE Stephen King, I'm up to date with all his new stuff but I need to go back and start at the beginning!
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